“There will always, one can assume, be the need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter F. Drucker
Half a century later in 2015, how prophetic have Peter Drucker’s predictions been? Amazon is already old hat in the B2C marketing automation narrative, and Alibaba is doing the same for B2B wholesale. These giant companies have completely replaced their marketing and sales departments with efficient, market-automated websites that do all the heavy lifting for them. And the result has been skyrocketing revenue.
Marketing automation replaces sales? Surprisingly, the answer isn’t a simple yes or no.
The changing face of sales
In some ways, marketing automation is absolutely replacing the need for sales.
- Inbound leads cost 61% less than outbound leads. (HubSpot, 2012)
- Twice as many marketers cite inbound marketing as primary source of lead generation versus marketers citing outbound marketing (HubSpot, 2014)
With stats like that, sales seems more like a superfluous luxury than a cash cow. But keep in mind that while a reliance on outbound leads has decreased across the board, marketing automation is still seen mostly as a tool to generate more quality leads for sales.
- 77% of CMOs at top performing companies indicate that their most compelling reason for implementing automation is to increase revenue and get higher quality leads. (Gleanster, 2013)
- Lead nurturing functionality is the #1 most important feature to marketing automation software buyers, followed by CRM integration and analytics/reporting. (Pepper Global, 2014)
In 2015, marketing automation still functions the way traditional marketing does – as support for sales. But is that because sales support is marketing automation’s best function? Or is it because most companies are still thinking inside the box and only automating the top of the funnel?
Marketing automation’s true potential
Think about how a typical Amazon purchase occurs. You buy something you [might] need. Amazon flags potential products you would like (marketing automation), and you start spending more money because you have Prime. If there’s a snafu in delivery, you can call Amazon’s support number and they’ll reship what you bought free of charge (great customer service). At the end of every purchase you’re still a satisfied customer, and you’ll come back for more.
Where were the salespeople in that equation?
The answer is that they were behind the scenes, spending all their time selling ad space. Which begs the question: why isn’t that automated, too?
The answer, for now, is that marketing automation is limited, and the human element remains incredibly important. Blogging, for example, is still an incredibly useful tool for acquiring inbound leads.
- Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI (HubSpot, 2014)
But one day, even blogging will be automated. (The news is already getting there.) So simply saying that machines will never replace humans isn’t exactly par for the course when it comes to things like marketing and sales. In fact, the robot pictured above is actually a Lowe’s sales assistant.
At the end of the day, my point is a simple one. Marketing automation software hasn’t even come close to hitting full stride yet, so who’s to say what else it will be able to do ten years from now? After all, it’s already very good at nurturing the middle of the funnel.
- By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a human. (Gartner Research, 2011)
Do you think marketing automation software will ever replace sales? Chime in and leave a comment below.
